Raise Another Glass To The MIAC!!

I have to be honest and admit that, during most of the morning and before the selection show came on, I had much pretty much conceded in my own mind that the MIAC was going to be a one-horse team in the Big Dance with UST carrying the torch.  Even despite my own belief that I felt that they (Bethel) definitely deserved to be in, my years of "conditioning" (from being a life-long LA Ram, UCLA Bruin and Iowa Hawkeye fan) had me ready for disappointment.  So imagine my shock and surprise when the Royals were placed in the field of 64; edging out very, very good teams such as Whitworth, U of Chicago and UW-Superior.  What may have been the deciding factor, according to D3Hoops, was Bethel's 21-5 record vs Division III teams where Whitworth was only 15-5 against Division III opponents.  Another factor that may have come into play was that the MIAC was 55-29 against out of conference competition; which helped raise the SOS (strength of schedule) for Bethel.  There's probably no "magic" numbers that would assure any potential at-large team of being a "sure thing" so the best thing that any potential at-large team can do is take care of business from beginning to end.  The only thing that I didn't quite understand was the committee's decision to place the Royals in the Wheaton (IL) pod; going up against perennial powerhouse Hope, instead of keeping them in the Twin Cities to be a part of the UST pod.  However, I'm sure that the Royals aren't complaining too much at this point.  In any event, a big congratulations to Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff and team for getting in!

As expected, UST will be hosting an NCAA Regional pod this coming Friday night; going up against UM-Morris while the first game will pit Midwest Conference champ St. Norbert against IIAC champ Luther.  The Luther - St. Norbert contest should be an interesting one and I'll be anxious to watch this one; not knowing much about either squad.  While the Tommies will be prohibitive favorites in their game against UM-Morris - on paper anyway - they can ill-afford to take the Cougars lightly.  I said it last night and I'll say it again today.  UM-Morris will be coming into this NCAA Tournament with nothing to lose.  They know that they're the underdogs in this one and they can play loose and feel free to roll the dice a little.  I still think UST wins this one halfway comfortably but UM-Morris is not as bad as some people think.  As more than one coach has told me before, it's tournament time!

Game time at UST for the first game between St. Norbert and Luther looks to be set for 5:30 P.M.  Here's the link for the entire NCAA Division III Tournament.  http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-women/d3